new_generationsfandomcom-20200213-history
Lightning Country's Military
"The military of the Lightning Country consists mostly of medium infantry. This is infantry that is decently equipped to have moderate protection and yet remain mobile and fast. They don't really specialize in one type of unit, fielding decent infantry, skirmishers and some good cavalry. They value mobility and defensive tactics more than offensive ones. Their navy is decent, though their forte is siege equipment. Kumogakure has and still is researching new ways to bring devastation upon enemy fortifications. From their 'airships' to long range ballista, they both excel in defending a fortification location as laying siege to one." ''- The short description about the military of the Lightning country.'' Intro Following suit of the Akinian Imperial military, the Lightning Country has organized their forces into a impressive and disciplined force. Playing to their strengths and adopting a more defensive doctrine, the Lightning has created a brand new corp of engineers, dedicated to the construction of defensive works. To the Lightning, the best Offense will be a good defense now. The Player Characters What about the characters, that are shinobi? The army is integrated with the Shinobi corp, though not in the way that the Akinians do it. Preferring to deploy their Shinobi as members of mobile auxiliary units, these men and women are deployed in their squads of 4, and platoons of twelve. In war they will be made into companies, with each company holding 4 platoons. The most senior jounin of the platoons is chosen to be the company commander, and they are deployed in conjunction with the regular military. Additionally, their ranks remain the same, and they remain outside of the command structure of the regular military. They are attached as auxiliary units under the command of a Lieutenant Colonel. Composition Let us begin with the ranks that the Lightning now employs. A far cry from the old ways of having three ranks, the Lightning has worked on employing a dedicated officer Corp and a reorganized unit structure. There are 15 ranks in the Lightning Army, each rank accrues an increasing amount of pay, and requires increasing amounts of experience and training. They go- Cadet - The rank that all conscripts will start at. This rank is a rank reserved for those who are forced to join the military. The pay is decent enough for a single man but it is no living for an extended period of time. Private - The backbone of the lightning military, privates are those men who join the military willingly, or if they were conscripted, accrued enough experience to be awarded a promotion. This award gives the person who attained the rank higher pay. Corporal - A private who served with distinction may be promoted to a corporal. Much like the first two ranks, the benefits of being a corporal are purely pay based. They have no more command then any other corporal, however one lucky corporal may be chosen to be the company trumpeter. Lance Corporal - Once again, someone who served with distinction are as a corporal are promoted to lance corporal. The most senior lance corporal of a company is given the honor of being allowed to carry the banner of a company, something that only a few are allowed. If the corporal carrying the banner falls, it is up to the closest man to pick up the banner and carry it. Sergeant - Commands a squad, his various duties include holding order during marches and disciplining his or her squad members. This is the lowest rank of officer, and they are in command of that unit. Should the sergeant die in battle, it is accepted that the most senior Lance Corporal takes command of the squad. There can only be one sergeant in every squad. This is often the more senior men of the units. Staff Sergeant ''- 2nd in command of platoon, This man manages the some 25 men in a platoon. Responsible for ensuring order, delegating tasks out to the sergeants, and inspecting troops of the platoon. There can only be one staff sergeant in every platoon. These men are the most senior troops of their company, and are often seen as an arm of discipline that is utilized by the platoon and even the company leaders. ''Second lieutenant - 1st in command of platoon, in charge of leading drills and training, delegating tasks, and assigning watches. This man leads from the front of the army. Having served at least a year in the military, this man must have distinguished himself in battle, and showed himself competent in lower commands. First Lieutenant - 2nd in command of Company, this man is a captain in training, and is pretty much a glorified secretary. This is seen as a stepping stone between commands. This soldier will oversee the training of men, and the inspection of platoon camps to see that all is orderly. Captain - 1st in command of company, this soldier is in charge of a lot of men, and as such, he is given the task of managing the unit, rather then really leading it. They will meet out punishments and rewards to the men of the company, and are given the right to lead their unit according to the plans and orders of the colonel of the regiment they are assigned. More senior captains are given better commands, with the most senior captain given command of a cavalry unit. This officer is rigorously trained in the ways of war. He must have at least two years of experience, distinguished himself in battle, proven himself competent in command of a platoon, and have successfully passed through a war academy. Major - 2nd in command of regiment - Much like lieutenants, these officers have been proven in the rigors of battle. Having served for at least three years, this officer will have passed additional war academy courses to be ready for his assignment. Lieutenant Colonel - 1st in command of regiment, these officers have been charged with the duty of making sure each company follows the stratagem decided on by the division commander, ensuring the captains maintain order during marches through the captains, providing instructions during drills, punishing and rewarding lower officers, and counseling the Brigadier general on battle stratagems. These men are promoted through merit from the rank of major, with the signature of at least two colonels. Colonel - 2nd in command of brigade, hand picked by the brigadier general to serve as his aid, these officers assist the brigadier general in the execution of high level stratagem and the various logistical aspects of the company. Often nicknamed "Supply Warriors" for they are most often stuck with managing the supplies of a brigade. Brigadier General - 1st in command of brigade, in charge of planning stratagems, acting as commander when no higher ranked officer is available, ensuring that his brigade is properly equipped and handling any structures appropriately, organizing his brigade, and executing the stratagem of higher ranked officers. Major General - 1st in command of division - The division is one of the highest level officer available. They act as staff officers, not participating in battles, but rather determining stratagems and adjusting them from the rear. Because of this, sometimes there is a disconnect between regular soldiers and this officer, because the regular soldier may not always understand why the Major General leads from the rear. Like all officers, this man has gone through much training, had plenty of experience, and has been in the army for a long period of time. Lieutenant General - commander of a corp - More of a campaign manager then a general, this officer will determine the strategy his corp takes during the whole campaign. He is one of the highest level officers in the entire military, and he often determines the success and failure of an army. Equipment of the Army Archers are the lightest equipped unit of the army, aside from the engineers. They are equipped with longbows or Yumi's (Though the Yumi is preferred), cloth armor, and daggers as side weaponry. They are trained to fire in large volleys, and equipped with various arrows for different enemies, including heavy shot, flaming arrows, and regular broad-head arrows. Skirmishers are equipped with short bows, and light armor, mostly leather in make. These troops are trained in quick harassing attacks, then to fall back quickly. Light infantry are equipped with cloth armor with leather padding. They are given long spears and large round shields rimmed with iron rounding. Trained to form shield walls, these troops are more of a deterrent for cavalry then of infantry, though they can hold a line if needed in battle. Axes are their side weapon, should they lose their spear. The long spears these men wield are intended to take the place of a pike in battle, and can easily be anchored into the ground to serve as a makeshift cavalry stake. Medium infantry are the backbone of the lightning. Given leather armor, and a steel helmet, each man is equipped with a sword and a rounded shield. These men are taught to hold a line, drilled in both defensive and offensive formations, and their mobility makes them a good force for both. Heavy infantry are a minority in the army, more for their expense. They wear steel scale vests, and use swords, axes, and war hammers to defend themselves in battle, and crush enemies under their steel boot heels. Most often deployed with light infantry, these troops are the force that stride onto a battlefield to crush a foe. Engineers are a mobile force to be reckoned with. Backed up by their entire regiment, these men have two jobs, to entrench the army and run the war machines. Equipped with cloth armor and armed only with maces for emergencies, the men carry tools more then weapons. Given shovels, axes, rope, stakes, and torches these men are responsible for the mobile defense that has defined the new model of Lightning military. Cavalry are given lances, round shields, swords, and chainmail armor with leather padding, these men are the force to be reckoned with. The penetrating force of the Lightning, these troops ride fast mounts and attack with fury, often decimating units with impressive charges. They are the men responsible for counter-acting enemy cavalry, and flanking the enemy. Divisions of the Army and Unit Sizes Units of the army Squad - 5 men - Commanded by a sergeant Platoon - 25 men - 5 squads Company - 100 men - 4 platoons Regiment - 1000 men - 10 Companies (A small note, every regiment has command of at least four items of war/siege equipment) Brigade - 4000 men - 4 regiments Division - 12000 men - 3 brigades Corp - 48,000 men - 4 divisions Division of the army Every regiment has a company of combat engineers, company of archers, company of cavalry, and a company of skirmishers. Additionally, every regiment has two companies of light infantry, three companies of medium infantry, and one company of heavy infantry Officially, there are some fifty men that go with each regiment. These are of the supporting role. Physicians, scouts and messengers for officers. They do not go into combat but they are vital in keeping a regiment alive and thriving. They are not counted in the unit head-count, and are labeled as members of the support corp. Gear "The military of Kumogakure consists mostly of medium infantry. This is infantry that is decently equipped to have moderate protection and yet remain mobile and fast. They don't really specialize in one type of unit, fielding decent infantry, skirmishers and some good cavalry. They value defense and mobility over aggressive tactics, in line with their good siege equipment. Their navy is decent, though their forte is siege equipment. Kumogakure has and still is researching new ways to bring devastation upon enemy fortifications. From their 'airships' to long range ballista, they both excel in defending a fortification location as laying siege to one." '' - The short description about the military of the Lightning country. Various facts about the weaponry and armoury from this small segment of information: * The preference is to be mobile and fast, * The majority is wearing 'medium ranked' protection, * There isn't a major specialisation other than the fact that they have access to good cavalry, * Mobility and Defensive tactics are preferred over offensive ones. It is thus safe to say that you won't encounter a lot of troops in the Lightning country's military that are geared with heavy armour. This means no such thing as plate armour or anything thoroughly expensive. At best you'll find probably chainmail with some reinforcements. Think of a person wearing padded armour, chainmail and some hard boiled leather over the mail (cuir bouill). The average soldier would wear padding armour, known as gambeson, with perhaps some reinforced leather garments. While some like to think that padding is easy to cut through and just something the poorest wear, it isn't that easy. It protects the wearer pretty well against both the cold and attacks. With not weighing the user or making movement uncomfortable, it is a must with the forces of the Lightning country in battle. Special Notes on the Lightning Military A note on the doctrine of the army: The new doctrine of the Lightning is mobile defense, thus the new engineer corp. Sticking to their guns in terms of siege equipment, this army will get as close as possible to an enemy, and dig in. Even during combat this is used, with the infantry shielding the company of engineers, then, once an encounter is provoked, forcing the enemy to close to range on the defenses by retreating. In this way, the engineer corps of the lightning is well practiced in digging trenches and setting up stakes in combat, as well as making elaborate defensive breastworks to face down an enemy. A note on the forces of clans: Since clans make up such a large force in the region, clans are allowed to each create a single regiment in their own style. This company, while given the same ranks of the regular army, are attached as auxiliary units to the forces. These companies have been known to gain independent commands. A final note on banners in the Lightning forces: Traditionally, every company gets a banner. Only those who are not of officer rank may bear it, and the duty of bearing the company banner goes to the most senior lance corporal in the company.Category:Lightning Country Category:Military Category:Warfare